Movie Reviews

"There are twenty episodes in all for this series, and this is the fourth DVD, each with four episodes. The fifth is due out in May, and you?d better believe I?ve already pre-ordered it.

The ones before this are ?It's Great to Be a Ghost? (2005), ?The Snow Fort? (2005), and ?Polka Palace Party? (2006).

This DVD has the following episodes:

Cave Party: Set to a calypso beat, albeit a somewhat dated version of the genre. The friends go back in time to the Ice Age to howl at the moon, and invent some pretty useful things along the way.

Race Around the World: Not sure of the music genre here, but the friends take part in a tough race involving running through the jungle, snowboarding, kayaking across the ocean and hiking across the desert.

Eureka: A couple of crusty old prospectors and a couple of brilliant scientists join forces to find gold and dinosaur bones in them thar hills

Castaways: To a Bossa Nova beat, three castaways get a little help from a mysterious benefactor to survive on a deserted island.

Another excellent source of entertainment for kids and the adults who love them.

Amanda Richards, March 23, 2006"

The one we were waiting for

D. Branning | Hartford, CT USA | 03/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We're big backyardigans fans at our house. Our 1.5-year-old son is mesmerized by the show, the characters are cute and very watchable, and the music is suprisingly entertaining and listenable even after many, many viewings.

The bonus episodes on this disc are "Eureka" and "Castaways," both of which feature some of the best music in the entire series. The featured episodes "Cave Party" and "Race Around the World" episodes are also pretty good, making this the best of the Backyardigans releases so far. This is the one I would recommend to anyone who wants to sample the series -- just put on "Eureka," and try to stop yourself from singing along!

Happily, the next DVD will feature "Surf's Up," which ranks up there with "Eureka" and "Castaways" in our book.

A big thanks to Nick Jr. and Paramount for releasing this great series on DVD so quickly."

The Backyardigans' hugest fans

Jenny | Chicago area , IL, USA | 05/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My 14 month-old baby boy & I are huge fans of these characters. I recommend any of the 4 Backyardigans DVDs on the market so far. My son loves the castaways' episode in this particular DVD. It calmed him down. I mainly prefer the cave party. It's so ingenious how the writer tied great inventions with the story... The music, dances, images are fantastic.

For those who are so confuse about what kind of animals are the characters or why they have been stereotyped with foreign names. Let me suggest you to look at the special features in "It's great to be a ghost" DVD & to read about the writer @ Nickjr.com. Thus, you would learn that:

"Uniqua" is an undefined species (She looks like an ant to me, but she isn't according to her creator). She is a female because of her pink color & her name means unique (only one of its kind)

"Pablo" is a penguin. Penguins are distinctive animal of the Antarctica (South Pole). The closest countries to this continent are Argentine & Chile (Spanish speaker countries in South America. As a matter of fact, both countries claim sovereign over the Antarctic territory). It's for this reason his name is in Spanish.

"Tasha" is a hippo. Hippopotamus are original from Africa. So, her name has African flavor. She tends to be a very "bossy" character because hippos are very territorial.

"Tyrone" is a moose. His name means "Young Soldier". That is what his character is about. He always follows the group & is a very full of life team player - like a young soldier.

"Austin" is a kangaroo (My husband insists Austin is a wallaby - a small kangaroo specie). Kangaroo is an Australian animal, & Austin is a common name over there

I also read that the author selected these species, because there were so littler children stories with this kind of animals @ the time she created the Backyardigans"

Great Toddler Pleaser

M. Ritterpusch | Clear Lake, WI USA | 05/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Backyardigans are a great joy in our household with a not-quite 3-year-old and a 15-month-old. Our older child also has a speech delay, and both children are benefitting greatly from the language in this series. Cave Party seems to be particularly good, since the kids help to identify "new" things. Unlike other reviewers, I think that the choice of animals and names is perfect. My older child understand perfectly that Tyrone is a moose, Pablo is a penguin (and there are South American penguins, hence the South American name), Tasha is a hippo, Austin is a kangaroo (Austin, Australia - the tail is a dead give away to a 3-year-old), and Uniqua is a lizard. All of the names are also easily pronounced by a small child, which is great. Both of my children love Eureka, too, so we were happy that it was included as a bonus; both kids pretend to look for bones or gold in our yard just like the Backyardigans. Well done once again!"

How many times can you watch this if you're two? Thousands.

DCMom | Washington DC | 02/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My 2 1/2 year old loves, loves, loves Backyardigans. Unlike another reviewer, we have not had any trouble with playing the Backyardigan DVDs (and we don't have an expensive DVD player), and they have been played a hundred times so far. For good or bad, the stories have entered into my child's playlife and imagination, as she plays out the adventures in racing day, or proclaims "I'm Tarzan!" My husband and I have watched each of these a number of times ourselves and they are fun and clever and definitely a hit with the younger set. Blues Clues is now a distant second when it comes to picking out which video to watch."